Door for railway cars of the dumping-car type



i J. CRAIG. DOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS OF THE DUMPING CAB TYP E.

Patented June 27, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5, I9I9.

. J. CRAIG.

DOOR FOR RAILWAYVCARS OF THE DUMPING CAR TYPE.

. APPLICATIONIFILED SEPT, 55, I919. 27,

3 SHEETS-SHEET}.

1. CRAIG. DOORFOR RAILWAY CARS OF THE DUMPING CAR TYPE.

I APPLICAUON FILED SEPT.5, 1919. patentedjune 27 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET a.

ill @I I JAMES CRAIG, or annovnn, rvmssacrrusn'rrs.

DOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS OF THE DUMPING-CAR TYPE.

Application filed September 5, 1919. Serial No. 321,879.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known thatI, JAMES ORAIG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Andover, in thecounty of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Doors for Railway Cars of the Dumping-Car Type, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to sheet metaldoors for closing the discharge openings of rail-- way cars of the dumping type, such as hopper cars, general service cars, and the like, and the primary object of the invention is to construct doors used for cars of this type so that they will be very strong and rigid as against the tendency which a door in this situation has to warp and deflect under the stresses and pressures to which they are subject in service.

The invention is illustrated, in certain preferred embodiments, in the accompanying drawings whereinv Fig. 1 is a fragmentary crosssectional view illustrating a general service car fitted with doors constructed in accordance with my invention. 3

Fig. 2 is'a fragmentary plan view of the door.

Figs. 3 and t are sectional views on lines 33 and it, respectively, of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through one of the hoppers of a hopper car of common type but provided with doors constructed in accordance with the principle of my invention, different, however, in form from the door shown in the preceding figures.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of the plate forming the door taken through one of the corrugations thereof, thatis to say, on line 6-6 of Fig. 7

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary cross sectional view online 77 of Fig. 6, and

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are views corresponding, respectively,to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, illustrating another modified form of the. door.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several 15 ures of the drawings.

Referring first to *igs. 1 to 4k inclusive,

in which I have shown a door, constructed in accordance with my invention, of suitable character for a car of the general service type. These cars are usedfor carrying bulk material which may be dumped through the discharge openings provided by constituting the major portion of the floor of a number of hinged panels or doors which open downwardly. The cars are also used in the same way as the ordinary gondola cars for carrying rails, pipes, Inachinery or other articles, as well as material in bulk.

In the drawings, 25 designates one of the side wall structures of the car, 26 one of the end walls, 27 the center sill, and 28 one of the bolsters or cross members of the under frame. Each of the doors, which together make up the major portion of the bottom or deck of the car, consists of a steel plate 29 which is hinged at one edge to the center sill 27 by means of suitable hinges 30 and is provided at'the other edge with means whereby the door may be raised from the dumping position, shown in Fig. 1, to its closed or horizontal position and held in that position. This mechanism, which includes chains 31 fastened to bracket members 32 011 the outer edge of the door, is of common construction and will not require detailed description. The door is preferably arched or curved upwardly from the hinged edge to the opposite edge and is formed additionally with a plurality of strengthening and rigidifying corrugations 33 which preferably extend in the direction in which the load moves when dumping, that is to say, in the direction at right angles to the hinged edge of the door. These corrugations are preferably deeper at their ends than at the middle so that their upper portions lie in substantially the same horizontal plane.

Preferably the door plate 29 is formed with stiifening flanges 34, 35, on its hinged and outer edges, respectively, and similar flanges 36 on its lateral edges. These flanges 'niay be integral, that is, forming a continuous, downturned rim around the edge of the door.

By giving the door its arched configuration and by forming it with the corrugations 33 the door is made very strong and rigid as against the tendency of heavy loads to produce deflecting and warping. Byv making the corrugations of an increased depth at the ends to compensate for the curvature of the plate, so that the tops of the corrugations lie in a horizontal plane, the car is better adapted for carrying machinery, package freight, and the like, than it would be if the corrugations followed the arched contour of the plate, or than if the corrugations were omitted.

In the remaining figures I have shown a modified form of door intended particularly for hopper car. These cars carry bulk freight exclusively and, therefore, it is feasible to have the door arch or bulge into the car a trifle.

In Figs. 5 to 7 inclusive, the sides of the hopper are indicated by numerals 3'7, 38.

' Each hopper is provided with two doors.

v the plate.

The door, in each case, consists of a plate 39 preferably hinged, as indicated at 40, and formed with corrugations 41 which are deepest at the middle and taper toward their extremities. The plate itself is not arched as in the door shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive. The door is effectively arched because of the corrugations just described. Each door is hinged at one edge to one of the side walls of the hopper by hinge devices 42. The meeting edges of the doors are preferably secured to beams 43 by which the doors, as well as the adjacent doors on the other side of the car, are opened and closed. This mechanism is of common construction and need not be described.

In Figs. 8, 9 and 10 I have shown another embodiment of the invention applied to a hopper car of the construction shown in Fig. 5. The door in this case consists of a bowed or arched plate 44 preferably flanged at 45 and formed with a plurality of rigidifying corrugations 46 which are of substantially uniform cross sectional area except at their terminal portions 47 where they merge into A door so constructed has great strength and rigidity due both to its arched configuration and also to the fact that it is provided with corrugations of considerable depth throughout their length.'

In Figs. 5 to 10 inclusive, the corrugations preferably extend in the direction of the movement of the load in dumping so as not to interfere with the free discharge of the material from the car.

I claim:

1. A door for a railway car of the dumping car type, comprising a sheet metal plate which is arched or curved upwardly at the center and formed with rigidifying corrugations which extend across said arched portion.

2. A door for a railway car of the dumping car type, comprising a sheet metal plate which is arched or curved upwardly at the center and formed with rigidifying corrugations which extend across said arched portion in the direction of movement of the load in dumping.

3. A door for a railway car of the dumping car type, comprising a sheet metal plate which is arched or curved upwardly from the hinged edge to the opposite edge thereof and is formed on said arched portion with a plurality of rigidifying corrugations.

4. A door for a railway car of the dumping car type, comprising a sheet metal plate which is arched or curved upwardly from the hinged edge to the opposite edge thereof and is formed on said arched portion with a plurality of rigidifying corrugations which extend substantially from one of said edges to the other.

5. A door for a railway car of the dumping car type, comprising a sheet metal plate which is arched or curved upwardly from the hinged edge of the door to the opposite,

edge thereof and is formed with a plurality of substantially parallel rigidifying corrugations, merging one into the other to give the plate a sinuous configuration, which extend substantially from one of said edges to the other.

6. A door for a railway car of the dump ing car type, comprising a sheet metal plate which is arched or curved upwardly from the hinged edge of the door to the opposite edge thereof and is formed with a plurality of substantially parallel rigidifying corrugations, merging one into the other to give the plate a sinuous configuration.

7 A door for a railway car of the dumping car type, comprising a corrugated plate having a curved or arched configuration extending substantially from edge to edge of the plate to give it additional strength and rigidity.

8. A door for a railway car of the dumping car type, comprising a corrugated plate having a curved or arched configuration to give it additional strength and rigidity, the corrugations of which extend in the direction of movement of the load in dumping and merge one into another to give the plate a sinuous configuration.

9. In combination with a railway car having a discharge opening, of a sheet metal door to close said opening, means for hing ing one edge of the door to the car body, said door being arched from the hinged edge to the opposite edge and formed with rigid ifying corrugations which extend across said arched portion.

10. In combination with a railway car having a discharge opening, of a sheet metal door to close said opening, means for hinging one edge of the door to the car body, said door being arched from the hinged edge to the opposite edge and formed with rigidifying corrugations which extend across said arched portion at substantially right angles to said edges.

11. A door for a railway car of the dump-= ing car type, comprising a sheet metal plate which is arched or curved upwardly between opposite edges and formed with corrugations which extend substantially from one of said edges to the other and are deeper at 13. In a general service car, the combination with the center sill and body of the car, of a door hinged to said center sill which consists of a steel plate formed with a circumferential stiffening flange and arched or curved upwardly from its hinged edge to the opposite edge and formed with corruga tions extending substantially from one of said edges to .the other, the ends of which corrugations are deeper than the middle portions, for the purpose described.

JAMES CRAIG. 

